Florence — Before the Florence Huskies boys basketball team took the floor against Salida on Thursday, head coach Mark Marquez smiled and said he didn't understand why junior Josh Sisneros was struggling shooting the ball in his home gym this season.

Sisneros, along with Marquez, was more than pleased to see that trend end against the Spartans as the guard tallied 14 points in the Huskies' 63-20 win inside Florence's gym.

"It felt so good to make some shots," said Sisneros, who was 5 for 14, including four 3-pointers in his three quarters of play. "I really don't know why I have been struggling at home, but one of my friends got me thinking that with it being my first year here, new team and a new crowd, that is has been my nerves."

Sisneros made his last 3-pointer in the early minutes of the third quarter to put Florence (5-9, 3-5 Tri-Peaks League) up 39-5 before exiting with a bloody nose. Sisneros did not return, but said he won't miss any time.

Salida (0-13, 0-7 T-PL) was in trouble long before Sisneros heated up, though, as the Huskies' full-court pressure defense held the Spartans scoreless for more than 20 minutes. With the score 8-5 midway through the first quarter, Florence outscored Salida 39-0 before the Spartans were able to end the dry spell with a 3-pointer with 31 seconds left in the third quarter.

"We've worked hard and I think we've improved every game on that full-court press," Marquez said. "We didn't want to spring it on (Salida) too quick and then when we did I think we had 2-3 forced turnovers in the next few possessions. The guys are really starting to figure it out and they love playing defense. That's what I really enjoy about this team."

Florence forced 20 turnovers from the Spartans, nine in the second quarter alone, while the Huskies limited their turnovers to 11 offensively.

The Huskies' offense continued to be efficient in the second half as they shot 61 percent over the final 16 minutes. Junior Zach Hoxie picked up where Sisneros left off as Hoxie scored 13 of his game-high 17 points in the second half.

"We did a real good job of making sure we were set up in our offense tonight and we were driving the ball to the basket," Hoxie said. "Every game we seem to have a different leading scorer, so we're tough for other teams because they can't setup around just one guy."

Hoxie and Sisneros led the way with 17 points and 14 points, respectively. Jeremy Nelson and Ryan Wilson each added eight points apiece as well to propel the Florence offense.

The Huskies will look to build off this win when they travel to take on second-place Manitou Springs on Tuesday. Manitou Springs (8-6, 6-1 T-PL) trails Colorado Springs Christian School by a half-game in the standings and defeated the Huskies 67-51 on Jan. 10.

"It's going to take us playing four quarters of basketball to win," Marquez said. "We lost by 16 in the last go around, but it was in reach there for awhile. We were off offensively in that game, we had some foul trouble if I remember right, but there were some things there. If we play four quarters of basketball, I think we can play with anyone in our league." FLORENCE 63

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